[Report]CES 2012 Report – Steven Stone on Digital Products (The Absolute Sound, 2012. 1)
According to CES figures 2012 was the biggest show in history, both in attendance and floor space. My sore legs testified to its vastness. The range of new digital products was also more extensive, making it even more impossible to write about every new product. Here are the ones that stood out in this highly competitive environment.
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Steven Stone’s Best of Show
Best Sound (Cost No Object)
This year I finally “got” Magico, courtesy of the system in Axiss Distributing’s Room. Starting with an HP portable running pre-release Emotion playback software, the signal ran through Solution’s new 590 USB convertor ($4000) via AES/EBU cable to a Solution 540 CD player and then to Solution 501 amplifiers driving Magico Q3 speakers. All wire was from Kubala Sosna Elation series. The system recreated the soundstage on my own 192/24 recording of the Deadly Gentlemen more precisely than any system I’ve heard before. Awesome, a word I rarely use, was an understatement. Gobsmacked would better describe my state after just 30 seconds of listening.
Best Sound (for the lowest price)
I’ve heard the Magnepan 1.7 speakers numerous times at shows, but I’ve never heard them sound as good as in Digital and Analog Co LTD’s room. Starting with a Dell computer running J-River playback software connected via USB to a prototype Calyx Femto DAC/preamp driving a pair of Calyx 500 monoblock amps, my 192 files were served up with all the finesse and brio of a far more expensive system. Cables were from Zen-Sati, and the whole shebang came in under $12,000.
Most Significant Product Introduction
Ted Denny and Synergistic Research have come up with another head-scratchingly good new product—the Tranquility Base. How does it work? All I know for sure is it’s based on the same technology as his Galileo Cable Cells. With several patents pending, this is anything but snake oil. During his demo Ted turned on and off the Tranquility base under a router and it had an audible effect. About five seconds into the first A/B someone behind me who had come in during the middle of the demo whispered, “Holy —-!” My feelings exactly.
Greatest Technological Breakthrough
Say hello to jitter measurement in femtoseconds. MSB’s new Galaxy Clock’s published specifications are 77 femtoseconds of jitter. Calyx’s Femto Dac/Pre also claims “better than picosecond” jitter specifications. Next up: atto seconds…
Most Important Trend
Headphones. Whether earbuds, on-ear, in-ear, around, or over-ear. Manufacturers including Paradigm, Velodyne, Cardas, PSB, and Focal premiered their takes on these portable transducers. As more performance-oriented companies get on the bullet-train to the future with personal systems I expect every survival-oriented high-end company to bring its own version of the ultimate portable to market.
According to CES figures 2012 was the biggest show in history, both in attendance and floor space. My sore legs testified to its vastness. The range of new digital products was also more extensive, making it even more impossible to write about every new product. Here are the ones that stood out in this highly competitive environment.
__________
Steven Stone’s Best of Show
Best Sound (Cost No Object)
This year I finally “got” Magico, courtesy of the system in Axiss Distributing’s Room. Starting with an HP portable running pre-release Emotion playback software, the signal ran through Solution’s new 590 USB convertor ($4000) via AES/EBU cable to a Solution 540 CD player and then to Solution 501 amplifiers driving Magico Q3 speakers. All wire was from Kubala Sosna Elation series. The system recreated the soundstage on my own 192/24 recording of the Deadly Gentlemen more precisely than any system I’ve heard before. Awesome, a word I rarely use, was an understatement. Gobsmacked would better describe my state after just 30 seconds of listening.
Best Sound (for the lowest price)
I’ve heard the Magnepan 1.7 speakers numerous times at shows, but I’ve never heard them sound as good as in Digital and Analog Co LTD’s room. Starting with a Dell computer running J-River playback software connected via USB to a prototype Calyx Femto DAC/preamp driving a pair of Calyx 500 monoblock amps, my 192 files were served up with all the finesse and brio of a far more expensive system. Cables were from Zen-Sati, and the whole shebang came in under $12,000.
Most Significant Product Introduction
Ted Denny and Synergistic Research have come up with another head-scratchingly good new product—the Tranquility Base. How does it work? All I know for sure is it’s based on the same technology as his Galileo Cable Cells. With several patents pending, this is anything but snake oil. During his demo Ted turned on and off the Tranquility base under a router and it had an audible effect. About five seconds into the first A/B someone behind me who had come in during the middle of the demo whispered, “Holy —-!” My feelings exactly.
Greatest Technological Breakthrough
Say hello to jitter measurement in femtoseconds. MSB’s new Galaxy Clock’s published specifications are 77 femtoseconds of jitter. Calyx’s Femto Dac/Pre also claims “better than picosecond” jitter specifications. Next up: atto seconds…
Most Important Trend
Headphones. Whether earbuds, on-ear, in-ear, around, or over-ear. Manufacturers including Paradigm, Velodyne, Cardas, PSB, and Focal premiered their takes on these portable transducers. As more performance-oriented companies get on the bullet-train to the future with personal systems I expect every survival-oriented high-end company to bring its own version of the ultimate portable to market.
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